In many situations it is either impractical or impossible to provide training in the actual working environment. For example, with jet aircraft, training of new pilots and continued training of more experienced pilots cannot practically be accomplished with the aircraft itself.
Therefore, training simulators, such as flight simulators, have been developed. Ideally, such training systems provide exact replicas of the actual working environment, and provide real-life audio-visual experiences. Simulators are useful in a wide range of applications, such as for training in aircraft, boats, automobiles, trucks, buses, trains, power plants, chemical plants, or any other application calling for operator training.
These training systems typically include switches, buttons, gauges, meters, and other controls (which may be actual or computer representations) for simulating the actual controls used in the working environment. For training systems such as those used for jet aircraft, a visual display of ground terrain, the horizon, and the sky is also provided. In operation, these training systems simulate actual conditions in response to the trainees' use of the simulator controls. In this way, valuable training may be provided without the cost associated with, for example, actually flying a jet aircraft.
Instructors are often involved in the use of such training systems. These instructors monitor trainee performance, and can provide testing, instruction, and critique. For example, by setting the training system into a preset state, a trainee may be tested for response to a particular scenario, for example, recovery from a tailspin. However, instructors are not always necessary, and trainees may also set the training system to a desired state.
Establishing a particular training scenario involves setting the values of various parameters used by the training system. For example, with a flight simulator, these parameters include weather conditions, initial location of the aircraft (e.g., as on the runway or already in flight), and weapons load, among many other parameters.
In existing systems, setting of the various parameters for a training session often involves tedious and time consuming entry of data. For example, to change the simulated weather of a particular training scenario, prior art systems require the entry of a myriad of data values related to the weather, which often takes on the order of fifteen minutes to an hour to complete.
Because it is often desirable to provide a trainee with training on a number of different training scenarios, such delays in setting up the different scenarios result in significant amounts of wasted time, inefficient use of the training system, and less productive training sessions.
Therefore, a need has arisen for a method and an apparatus for controlling simulators that allow for quick and efficient changing of training scenarios.